In magnetic recording media, for example as used in disk drive storage devices, information is written to and read from magnetic elements that represent digital bits on a hard disk. The magnetic elements may be arranged in circular and concentric data tracks on the surface of one or more disks. The disks may be coupled with a hub that rotates about a shaft of a motor.
In order to increase the amount of information that can be stored within a given area, the size and distance between the magnetic elements on the surface of the disks may be reduced so that they may be more densely positioned. For example, one way to achieve such a goal is to use heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology. In HAMR, focused heating and magnetic recording may be used to magnetically record data on a high-coercivity material on a disk substrate that allows for high areal density of magnetic elements.
For high-coercivity materials, the strength of magnetic fields used for writing data may not be strong enough to change the magnetic orientation of such materials at regular temperatures. Using, for example, laser thermal assistance, a high-coercivity material may be locally and temporarily heated such that the material loses its high coercivity, allowing the magnetic field to write data to the material.